Today in Fake Holidays: National Sandwich Month

The food gods (or, you know, this blog) have deemed that August is National Sandwich Month. This is, of course, silly, but it nevertheless puts us in mind of our love and respect for the sandwich, which can be enjoyed at any time of the day (may we point you in the direction of our recipe for an Italian breakfast sandwich?), and which, in the words of esteemed eater and chef Adam Richman, "at its best ... is your imagination bound by two pieces of bread."

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As it turns out, like most good things in life, the sandwich has a dark and sordid past that complicates its reputation as innocent PB&J sustenance for fourth-graders everywhere. "Sandwich" is the name of a place, in England, and in the late 1700s, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montague, spent so much time gambling that he couldn't be bothered to take meal breaks. (This is, in fact, the way many gamblers operate.) In order to have a free card-playing hand, he requested meat and cheese stuck between two pieces of bread. Legend of this clever snack spread quickly, and the sandwich was born. We've come a long way since the eighteenth century — some of the best sandwiches today have ingredients the Earl wouldn't have dreamed of, like the all-American po'boy or the bánh mì. For an unranked, unimpeachable, and incomplete account of the best sandwiches available today, check out our own list of the best sandwiches in America. Carry on the debate (here's one: if it's open-faced, is it really a sandwich?) in the comments. [Eatocracy]